Everything seems to be going digital. Photography. Music. File Storage. Even dental labs, which benefit patients as well as the dentists who serve them. As the materials and technology available for CAD/CAM dentistry have improved, so too have the restorations patients can receive from this form of digital dentistry. Today's CAD/CAM restorations are better-fitting, more durable and more natural looking than previously machined restorations.
Computer Aided Design and Computer Assisted Milling (CAD/CAM) takes the world of dentistry to a new level fabricating conventional lab products like White metal crowns and Porcelain fused to metal crowns (PFM), involves technique sensitive procedures and material inconsistencies. Often the integrity of a restoration is subject to human error in such areas as waxing, investing, casting and soldering. These errors can be eliminated with the use of CAD/CAM technology.
Advantages of CAD/CAM
- Improved turnaround times
Although using a manual file will still clean out the root canals thoroughly, most dentists and patients prefer rotary endodontics. In fact, it was largely the loud grinding of manual files that gave root canal therapy the reputation of being a “scary” or “undesirable” procedure. With rotary endodontics, patients feel much more comfortable during the treatment and barely notice the whirring of the tools.
- Increased accuracy
Milling equipment is typically accurate to 50 micrometres, CAD/CAM dental restorations are comparable in fit to traditionally fabricated dental restorations. Accuracy is critical, particularly since the fit of a restoration is the key to preventing future tooth damage. For example, an ill-fitted crown can leave space between the teeth, or between the tooth preparation and the restoration, which could lead to an increased risk of infection or decay.
- Better long-term patient results
Since these types of restorations contain no metal to block subsequent x-rays, dentists are able to keep track of potential decay underneath a full zirconia restoration whereas conventional PFM or traditional gold crowns block x-ray radiation, disallowing such an evaluation over time. As CAD/CAM enables dental practitioners to seat a finished restoration in a week’s time, practitioners find that treated patients have fewer side effects like tooth sensitivity following their dental treatment.
